And now network sources close to the matter have spoken to the Guardian, revealing that the handset has already been tested with the UK 4G service, and will be one of the first LTE enabled handsets in the UK alongside Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE, Nokia Lumia 920 and the Huawei Ascend P1 LTE.

The unnamed source also revealed that the iPhone 5 is on the GSMA ‘Master List’, where 4G devices have to be registered before being tested on the 1800MHz spectrum that 4G uses.

If 4G is indeed built into the iPhone 5, EE, as the initial sole UK 4G provider, will be well placed to dominate sales against other UK networks such as O2 and Vodafone. But with pricing for 4G data and the iPhone 5 itself likely to be set at a high premium, it may remain the reserve of the mobile elite.